This invention relates generally to computerized travel planning systems.
Travel planning systems are used to produce itineraries and prices by selecting suitable travel units from databases concerning geographic scheduling and pricing information. In particular, travel planning systems that operate over the Internet are known. Some computer travel planning systems, such as Internet sites, generally produce a set of planning options, or itineraries for the traveller to consider. These options are often in the form of a single list of the possible itineraries from which the traveller may select. Such a display approach makes it difficult to clearly compare, discriminate, focus, and assimilate criteria and information that are likely to be important to the traveller.
According to an aspect of the invention, a graphical user interface for a travel planning system includes a tabular region of the graphical user interface that displays summarized travel options and comprises a plurality of cells that act as controls and a second region that displays selected travel options resulting from filtering a set of travel options in accordance with a control actuated in the tabular region.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for displaying travel options includes compartmentalizing travel options into bins according to a set of criteria. The invention has compartmentalizing travel options into xe2x80x98binsxe2x80x99, according to a set of criteria through displaying the resulting bins in a table.
One or more of the following advantages may be provided by one or more aspect of the present invention.
With a summary table as part of a user interface to the travel planning system, travellers can select individual bins in order to focus on a subset of travel options that they are interested in. Selecting an individual cell displays a secondary level of information about the travel options that are represented in that cell. In this secondary level of information about individual travel options, each travel option has a mechanism for selecting and displaying the details of that specific travel option. The summary table can appears in the top frame of a web browser.